Legislation to enshrine Australia’s first Paramedic Practitioner into law has now passed the Victorian Parliament, pioneering the way for them to deliver urgent care and prescribe medicines while saving Victorians a trip to hospital.
The Paramedic Practitioners Bill 2024 makes Victoria the first jurisdiction in Australia to have dedicated legislation to support this role – allowing the delivery of a higher level of care to patients when and where they need it.
Paramedics regularly transfer patients with serious, but not life-threatening, conditions to hospitals.
With their new advanced clinical training, Paramedic Practitioners will now be able to assess, diagnose and treat patients in the field, make clinical decisions and take pressure off our busy emergency departments.
The key change will allow Paramedic Practitioners to prescribe and administer scheduled medicines when treating patients, providing Victorians with immediate treatment on the spot.
The first cohort of 30 paramedics is currently progressing through Monash University’s nation-leading Paramedic Practitioner master’s degree, with a second cohort set to begin in the coming weeks.
Developed in collaboration and consultation with Ambulance Victoria, Safer Care Victoria, paramedics, clinicians and unions, the free master’s degree will see these graduates deployed to regional Victoria in 2026.
Once graduated, the Paramedic Practitioners will be equipped to treat conditions that often lead to hospital visits, such as urinary catheter care, wound care and closure, minor infections, dislocations and fractures.
